VVJM men demolish TATA’s proposed hospital’s wall

Jajpur, Dec 1 (Odisha.in) Bereaving police presence thousands of people allegedly the supporters of Visthapan Virodhi Jana Manch (VVJM) demolished a boundary wall of Tata Steel’s proposed hospital at Maniapatana village in Kalinga Nagar, the steel hub of India in Orissa’s Jajpur district on Saturday.

The VVJM, the forum leading the tribals’ agitation against displacement due to industry in the area since January 2, 2006 after 14 tribal persons including three women and a 12-year-old boy were gunned down by the police while they opposed land acquisition for Tata’s proposed steel plant in Kalinga Nager.

Even though the villagers of Maniapatana had taken the help of local police to construct the boundary wall of the hospital but they had to receive the jolt when the VVJ supporters including local Chandia and Belhuri villagers destroyed the entire newly constructed boundary wall.

On Wednesday some villagers of Belhuri had attacked three labourers who were busy in constructing the boundary wall of the hospital, which will be set up at a cost of Rs 10 crore.

Following information Collector Sanjay Singh and SP DS Kuttey reached at the spot and brought the situation under control.

“As the situation is tensed we have deployed eight platoons of police forces to avoid any untoward incident. We are closely monitoring the situation,” said the Jajpur SP.

There was an altercation between the villagers of Maniapatana and Belhuri over the construction work of boundary wall since long.

Police sources said that a private agency was awarded the construction work of the proposed hospital by the Tata steel in the industrial area.

But the agency handed over the boundary wall construction work of the proposed hospital to the local Maniapatana people supposed to be the pro Tata people anticipating trouble by the activists of the Vistapan Virodhi Janmanch.

“The violent people were planning to attack the Maniapatana villagers, but it was averted,” the SP added.

While after the incident the irate tribal people gathered at Belhuri village for a meeting, police have registered a case against them.

The Janamanch president Chakradhar Haiburu (senior) said that the opposition against the Tata Steel project would continue in Kalinga Nagar.

“The Government should prevent any construction activities of the proposed project till the crisis was fully resolved,” he added.